House · 2010s — present
What BPM is Bass house?
Bass house sits at 128 BPM at the median, with most tracks between 126 and 130 BPM. The genre's editorial range is 124–132 BPM; our catalog measures slightly tighter.
Median BPM
128
Common range
126–130
Mean
128
Tracks measured
953
BPM distribution
953 tracks · median 128 BPM · most of the catalog sits between 126 and 130 BPM · 47 outliers removed by IQR filter.
How bass house tempo has shifted
Across 569 bass house tracks spanning 2019–2026, the median has crept up by 4.0 BPM (from 126 to 130) with the highest median in 2025 (130 BPM) and the lowest in 2020 (125 BPM).
Why this tempo?
Bass house emerged in the 2010s at 124–132 BPM as a direct response to dubstep's influence on house production. The tempo sits in the pocket where four-on-the-floor kick patterns remain locked and dancefloor-functional, while allowing producers to layer half-time and syncopated bass rhythms derived from dubstep's 140 BPM aesthetic—effectively doubling the perceived aggression without losing the house framework. Equipment constraints favored this range: drum machines and controllers handle 128 BPM swing with minimal latency, and the 8-bar phrase structure accommodates both house breakdowns and drop-driven buildups. Clubs adopted this tempo for peak-time sets where energy needed escalation beyond tech house but maintained groove over pure intensity.
Where your track fits
Three reference points along the BPM axis for bass house, with what the position implies about the track.
Groovy side
Lower quartile — patient builds, deeper grooves, long blends.
Genre centre
Median — what most tracks in the catalog actually sound like.
Peak-time edge
Upper quartile — pushes the floor, bridges into faster neighbours.
Where bass house sits on the tempo axis
Median BPM of bass house compared to neighbouring genres in the same family. Closer medians mean easier cross-genre transitions.
Popular bass house tracks at the median BPM
Catalog tracks within ±2 BPM of 128, sorted by popularity.
Top bass house artists in the catalog
Names you’ll meet often when building bass house sets.
Producing bass house — tempo notes
- ›Anchor your kick at 124–128 BPM with a tight, sub-focused attack; reserve 130–132 BPM for high-energy variants with added mid-range punch to cut through aggressive bass.
- ›Layer dubstep-influenced bass using half-time rhythmic subdivision: a 64th-note wobble at 128 BPM reads as dense without requiring tempo increase.
- ›Build drops over 16 bars minimum; use sidechain compression on bass at 4–8 Hz depth to maintain kick definition while the low end dominates.
Mixing bass house sets — tempo notes
- ›Blend tracks across 32 bars when mixing into bass house at 128 BPM; the aggressive drop-driven structure punishes short transitions.
- ›EQ incoming tracks' 200–400 Hz zone down by 2–3 dB before the drop to prevent mud when the bass hits; reintroduce on the breakdown.
- ›Use tempo-synced delay on filtered breakdowns (124 BPM quarter-note throws) to maintain momentum during the 8-bar phrase before the next drop.